Pistons-Raptors Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTOPosted Jan 08 2014 12:54AM

Back-to-back losses to the two best teams in the Eastern Conference have certainly cooled the Toronto Raptors.

Their upcoming schedule could get things turned around.

The Raptors look to bounce back from one of their worst offensive displays of the season when they try to hand the Detroit Pistons a sixth straight loss Wednesday night.

Toronto (16-17) moved atop the lowly Atlantic Division during a 9-2 stretch in which it averaged 101.1 points on 44.9 percent shooting, including 38.7 from beyond the arc.

The Raptors' season-best five-game winning streak ended with Sunday's 102-97 loss at Miami, and they followed that by putting up a season-low point total in an 86-79 defeat at Indiana two days later.

Avoiding a third straight defeat will require some improvement from the field after Toronto shot 37.0 percent overall and went 5 of 19 from long range against the Pacers.

"Shooters' legs, sea legs, whatever you want to call it, it was there," coach Dwane Casey said. "We can have all the excuses, but again, in a game like this, you've got to man up and bring it."

The upcoming stretch offers the Raptors a chance to get untracked. Their next four are against Detroit (14-21), Brooklyn, Milwaukee and Boston - all teams with losing records.

Toronto split four games last season with the Pistons, who are among the worst defensive teams in the league in 2013-14. Detroit is allowing an average of 102.1 points and 46.7 percent shooting. Its been even worse during a five-game slide, surrendering 104.4 points on 48.1 percent from the field.

Detroit was better defensively Tuesday, but lost 89-85 at New York while connecting on 37.2 percent from the floor - including 3 of 19 from behind the arc.

"We had a very good effort," coach Maurice Cheeks said. "We were able to fight back, but we couldn't make any shots at the end."

Brandon Jennings hasn't made many shots over the past two games, totaling nine points while missing 22 of 26 attempts, including 11 of 12 from 3-point range. The guard is still averaging 19.1 points on the road despite going 2 for 12 and finishing with only five against the Knicks.

The Pistons could get a lift offensively if Rodney Stuckey can return from a sore shoulder that's sidelined him for three games. The guard averages 14.0 points off the bench, and he had 18 in a 108-98 win in Detroit's most recent visit to Toronto on April 1.

The Raptors are looking for another big effort from guard DeMar DeRozan, who is averaging 25.0 points over the past four games. He had his best performance of that stretch Tuesday, scoring 28 points.

Patrick Patterson will try to build on his 20 points against the Pacers, but the backup forward has averaged just 8.5 over four career meetings with Detroit.

Patterson may be needed again if Toronto's starting front court struggles. Forwards Terrence Ross and Amir Johnson, and center Jonas Valanciunas combined for seven points on 2-for-19 shooting against Indiana. They each average at least 9.2 points.

Copyright 2014 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Lowry scores 21 as Raptors beat Pistons 112-91

By IAN HARRISONPosted Jan 08 2014 11:35PM

TORONTO (AP) Sloppy, selfish play in the second half of games is becoming a big problem for the Pistons.

The Raptors were more than happy to take advantage of Detroit's troubles.

"My main focus and the thing I've been trying to preach the most is sacrificing for each other, being able to play unselfishly, hit the open man when he's open," Detroit's Josh Smith said. "We just worry about playing together and not trying to figure out anything else, that's when our luck will start to change."

"We've just have to hang together and keep fighting and it will turn for us," Cheeks said.

DeMar DeRozan shook off a slow start to finish with 19 points and Terrence Ross had 17 for the Raptors, who went 31 for 34 from the free throw line to snap a two-game skid and win for the sixth time in eight games.

"The defensive intensity is what changed the game in the second half," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said.

Amir Johnson had 10 points and 11 rebounds for Toronto, which leads the Atlantic Division.

Brandon Jennings had 22 points and Rodney Stuckey returned after missing the previous three games with a sore right shoulder to score 14 for Detroit, which has not won since a 115-92 victory at Cleveland on Dec. 23. The Pistons have dropped eight of nine overall.

"The confidence is still there," Detroit's Greg Monroe said. "Of course guys are upset, they're mad because we know we should be winning more games. We have to continue to work together to find a way to win."

Smith and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 13 apiece for the Pistons, while Monroe added 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Stuckey said poor play in the second half of games has been "a killer" for the Pistons.

"We play phenomenal in the first half, but the second half comes around, we just stop playing basketball, stop sharing the ball, stop helping each other," Stuckey said.

Smith agreed that better teamwork is the key to altering Detroit's trajectory.

"When we won games, we've helped each other out on the defensive end. It's because we played unselfishly and that's what we've got to get back to," Smith said.

DeRozan had nine points in a fourth quarter during which Toronto led by double digits throughout, rebounding after he missed all nine shots he took in the opening half.

"Just being more aggressive, that was my goal," DeRozan said. "I knew my shot wasn't falling for me, so I just tried to do other things, be aggressive and try to create for my teammates."

DeRozan made a season-high 13 free throws and matched his career-high with 16 attempts from the line. He was the only Raptors player to miss a free throw.

Monroe scored eight points in the first quarter and Caldwell-Pope and Smith each had six, but Ross scored 11 to give Toronto a 26-25 edge after one.

Caldwell-Pope and Jennings each had seven in the second as the Pistons answered a 13-2 Toronto run with a 14-0 spurt of their own to lead 54-50 at halftime.

The Raptors shot just 6 for 23 from the field in the second and 16 for 48 in the opening half, numbers that were dragged down by DeRozan (0 for 9) and Amir Johnson (0 for 7).

Things went better for Toronto in the third. Ross sandwiched 3's around a layup by DeRozan as the Raptors took the lead by opening the quarter with an 8-0 run.

"We never really recovered after that," Cheeks said.

Valanciunas scored eight points in the third, including three huge dunks, and DeRozan also had eight, as Toronto took an 84-74 lead into the fourth. Ross and Lowry both scored six for the Raptors, who shot 11 for 22 in the third and outscored Detroit 34-20.

NOTES: Raptors F Tyler Hansbrough (left ankle) missed his fourth straight game. ... Detroit G Chauncey Billups got the night off after playing eight minutes in Tuesday's loss at New York. ... Andre Drummond had 16 rebounds for the Pistons. ... Detroit made 19 of 35 free throw attempts. ... Toronto began a stretch that sees them play five of six at home.

Copyright 2014 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Notebook: Raptors 112, Pistons 91

THE FACT:Kyle Lowry had a team-high 21 points and nine assists. Lowry has dished nine or more dimes in four of the last five games.

THE LEAD: The Toronto Raptors (17-17) continued their winning ways, defeating the Detroit Pistons (14-22) 112-91 at Air Canada Centre on Wednesday night. The Raptors have now won eight of their last nine games against sub .500 teams. Both teams shot poorly from the field. The Raptors connected on 40.7 percent of their shots, while the Pistons shot 39.5 percent. However, the Raptors made 31 of their 34 free throws and 11 of their 3-point attempts. The Raptors balanced attack was led by Lowry's 21 points and 9 assists and a pair of double-doubles with Jonas Valanciunas' 16 points and 11 rebounds and Amir Johnson's 10 points and 11 rebounds. The Pistons have now lost six in a row. Brandon Jennings game-high 22 points and nine assists was tops for Detroit.

QUOTABLE: "We knew it was going to be a grind out game and that's something we're learning to do quarter by quarter, possession by possession, but our defensive intensity is what changed the game starting in the second half."-- Raptors Head Coach Dwane Casey on what changed the game.

THE STAT: Points off turnovers: The Pistons gave away the ball 16 times, more importantly, those turnovers led to 25 points. The Raptors were able to capitalize on the poor care of the ball forcing turnovers into baskets.

TURNING POINT: The Pistons took a 54-50 lead into halftime, but came out flat after the break with the Raptors starting the third quarter on a 17-4 run, pushing the score to 67-58. While the Pistons threatened, they never came within two or took the lead for the second half. The Raptors outscored the Pistons 62-37 in the second half.

QUOTABLE II: "We can't have those first halves where teams get out on us. We have to jump on teams, we can't let them hit us first we have to play with that energy that we did in the third quarter."-- Raptors forward Johnson on bouncing back in the second half.

NOT: DeRozan and Johnson were ice cold in the first half for the Raptors shooting 0-for-7 and 0-for-9 from the field respectively. Johnson shot 0-for-7 in the previous game against the Pacers, yet finished the second half 4-for-6 versus the Pistons.

BAD MOVE: Pistons rookie Kentavious Caldwell-Pope started the game shooting 6-for-7 for 13 points in the first half, yet sat for much of the third quarter when the Raptors made their run.

NOTABLE: Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey returned to the lineup after missing three games with a right shoulder injury; he scored 14 points off the bench. Raptors forward Tyler Hansbrough was unavailable due to a sprained left ankle.